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I'm not exactly sure why, but I absolutely love this type of post. Actually I do know why, it's because I get the warm feeling of knowing I get to be a smartas

by J-dawg 7y ago

I'm not exactly sure why, but I absolutely love this type of post. Actually I do know why, it's because I get the warm feeling of knowing I get to be a smartass and point out Hofmeister Kinks to other people all over the place. And for anyone else thinking "that would make an awesome band name"... it seems a duo from Adelaide with 66 likes on Facebook have beaten you to it.

IgorPartola 7y ago
Several years ago there was an Ask HN post inquiring what it is called when you want that fuzzy feeling of knowing more random mostly useless trivia than others. Some obscure knowledge was left there. If you like random car stuff: apparently the fuel gauge on most cars points to the side of the car with the fuel fill, when it is at half full of course. And on cars with the muffler on only one side it is I believe the opposite side from the filler opening. Edit: there was also a thread many many years ago where it was agreed to not post links to just a random Wikipedia article and instead to something that provided a bit more context as to why the thing is interesting. But I guess a couple of years after that it was abandoned.
- scatters 7y ago
  Knowing how to find out which side the fuel cap is is very much not mostly useless if you hire regularly; it saves considerable time and effort knowing you can just look at the gauge as you pull into the fuel station.
  - setr 7y ago
    All cars I can remember seen have a little arrow next to the gas symbol that much more explicitly tell you which side the cap is on Which makes this redundant, and therefore mostly useless :-)
    - iNate2000 7y ago
      Redundant != Useless
  - taneq 7y ago
    It's actually useful even if you just don't drive much and only fill up every month or two. My brain has filler-cap-side down as "readily available information, do not store" so I don't bother remembering it. Gotta save those neurons for something I can't just look up at a glance when I need it!
    - soylentcola 7y ago
      I also don't fill up too often and unintentionally memorized this after owning the car for a few months. At first I'd have to look at the little arrow on the fuel pump symbol, but early on, I made the joke to myself that the fuel port is "'pon the left hand side" (like that song "Pass the Dutchie"). Now to this day, when I pull into the gas station and momentarily think "what side is it again?" I immediately remember "'pon the left hand side". It's kind of ridiculous but it amuses me.
- mft_ 7y ago
  Half full, my car's fuel gauge points straight up. I believe it is the side that the petrol pump handle appears on the small image of the petrol pump (next to the gauge) which indicates the side of the fuel filler cap on the car.
  - ksdale 7y ago
    I actually own a car where the handle is on the side away from the cap but there is also an arrow pointing to the correct side! I’ve always thought it would have been easier to just put the handle on the correct side...
- foobarbecue 7y ago
  Fill side is usually indicated by a little triangle next to the fuel icon on the console. I'd say this is there on 90% of cars I've been in. It's weird how people don't notice it.
- dugmartin 7y ago
  More random car stuff - inside most fuel doors you will find a semicircular hook that you can use to hang your gas cap on while filling up.
raxxorrax 7y ago
Seriously something that isn't easy to unsee ever again. I also learned that the word kink isn't used for fetishes exclusively... serious side effect of learning English through the internet.
- dsr_ 7y ago
  A kink is a thing which is bent; so if you describe majority sexuality as "straight", then anything else is kinked, or kinky, or is a kink.
- twic 7y ago
  You may also like to know that a Macpherson Strut is not a catwalk modelling technique.
amyjess 7y ago
If you love that, then you'll love this article: https://jalopnik.com/this-thing-has-an-actual-name-1826419841 https://jalopnik.com/this-thing-has-an-actual-name-182641984... About the Heckblende. Yes, there's actualy a term for when cars have a light bar on the back covering the entire width of the car. Interestingly enough, the article doesn't even mention one of the most prominent uses of Heckblende: almost every single Toyota introduced in the early '90s had one. Americans who were around then will remember the Camry and the Corolla having one, but if you look at the wide variety of JDM Toyotas from that era... they all had Heckblende.
- J-dawg 7y ago
  Thank you! This is exactly the kind of thing I am talking about.

by J-dawg 7y ago

IgorPartola 7y ago

Several years ago there was an Ask HN post inquiring what it is called when you want that fuzzy feeling of knowing more random mostly useless trivia than others. Some obscure knowledge was left there. If you like random car stuff: apparently the fuel gauge on most cars points to the side of the car with the fuel fill, when it is at half full of course. And on cars with the muffler on only one side it is I believe the opposite side from the filler opening. Edit: there was also a thread many many years ago where it was agreed to not post links to just a random Wikipedia article and instead to something that provided a bit more context as to why the thing is interesting. But I guess a couple of years after that it was abandoned.

scatters 7y ago
Knowing how to find out which side the fuel cap is is very much not mostly useless if you hire regularly; it saves considerable time and effort knowing you can just look at the gauge as you pull into the fuel station.
- setr 7y ago
  All cars I can remember seen have a little arrow next to the gas symbol that much more explicitly tell you which side the cap is on Which makes this redundant, and therefore mostly useless :-)
  - iNate2000 7y ago
    Redundant != Useless
- taneq 7y ago
  It's actually useful even if you just don't drive much and only fill up every month or two. My brain has filler-cap-side down as "readily available information, do not store" so I don't bother remembering it. Gotta save those neurons for something I can't just look up at a glance when I need it!
  - soylentcola 7y ago
    I also don't fill up too often and unintentionally memorized this after owning the car for a few months. At first I'd have to look at the little arrow on the fuel pump symbol, but early on, I made the joke to myself that the fuel port is "'pon the left hand side" (like that song "Pass the Dutchie"). Now to this day, when I pull into the gas station and momentarily think "what side is it again?" I immediately remember "'pon the left hand side". It's kind of ridiculous but it amuses me.
mft_ 7y ago
Half full, my car's fuel gauge points straight up. I believe it is the side that the petrol pump handle appears on the small image of the petrol pump (next to the gauge) which indicates the side of the fuel filler cap on the car.
- ksdale 7y ago
  I actually own a car where the handle is on the side away from the cap but there is also an arrow pointing to the correct side! I’ve always thought it would have been easier to just put the handle on the correct side...
foobarbecue 7y ago
Fill side is usually indicated by a little triangle next to the fuel icon on the console. I'd say this is there on 90% of cars I've been in. It's weird how people don't notice it.
dugmartin 7y ago
More random car stuff - inside most fuel doors you will find a semicircular hook that you can use to hang your gas cap on while filling up.

raxxorrax 7y ago

Seriously something that isn't easy to unsee ever again. I also learned that the word kink isn't used for fetishes exclusively... serious side effect of learning English through the internet.

dsr_ 7y ago
A kink is a thing which is bent; so if you describe majority sexuality as "straight", then anything else is kinked, or kinky, or is a kink.
twic 7y ago
You may also like to know that a Macpherson Strut is not a catwalk modelling technique.

amyjess 7y ago

If you love that, then you'll love this article: https://jalopnik.com/this-thing-has-an-actual-name-1826419841 https://jalopnik.com/this-thing-has-an-actual-name-182641984... About the Heckblende. Yes, there's actualy a term for when cars have a light bar on the back covering the entire width of the car. Interestingly enough, the article doesn't even mention one of the most prominent uses of Heckblende: almost every single Toyota introduced in the early '90s had one. Americans who were around then will remember the Camry and the Corolla having one, but if you look at the wide variety of JDM Toyotas from that era... they all had Heckblende.

J-dawg 7y ago
Thank you! This is exactly the kind of thing I am talking about.